HP and the Deathly Hallows: The Screenplay
by ajarntham
Summary: Well, not the real screenplay, actually.  Just some scenes which don't appear in the book or movie but that I wish might somehow have made it into the film: a little added romance here, a plot-hole filled there... Reviews are most gratefully welcomed.
1. Scene One: The Lovegoods

_OPENING SCENE: a home interior. LUNA LOVEGOOD is seated on a chair to the right of a bed. The bed's occupant is off-screen, but throughout the scene Luna occasionally smiles fondly and reaches out with her right arm as if to pat the head of said occupant. Now she picks up a book and begins to read from it._

LUNA: "There were once three brothers, each one as powerful and dangerous as any wizard who lived before or since . One day they were traveling along a lonely, winding road at twilight when they came to a bridge, and they found their path blocked by a hooded figure. And Death spoke to them, congratulating them on the strength of their magic, and said that each had earned a prize."

_Luna takes a drink of water and continues._

"So the oldest brother asked for a wand more powerful than any in existence: a wand that was worthy of the most powerful wizard who had ever lived. So Death summoned a branch from an elder tree on the banks of the river, fashioned a wand from the branch, and gave it to the eldest brother."

_We begin to hear murmurs from a news broadcast, presumably from a radio in the next room. The sound is not clear enough for us to hear each word, but some come through: like "attacks" "still missing" "Dark Mark" "The Ministry assures us" and "You-Know-Who." Luna adjusts her seat and continues. _

"Then the second brother asked for the power to recall others from Death and speak to them, so he might learn all the secrets of life and death. So Death summoned a stone from the riverbank and gave it to the second brother, telling him the stone would give him that power."

"And then Death asked the third and youngest brother what he would like-"

_Luna puts the book down because the radio broadcast is now loud enough to interfere with her reading. We hear:_

RADIO ANNOUNCER: The body of Charity Burbage, instructor of Muggle Studies at Hogwarts...

_Luna grimaces and swallows._

LUNA: I think I'll go turn that off, shall I?

_Luna gets up and walks off-screen. While she is gone, the broadcast continues:_

RADIO ANNOUNCER: . . . a note saying "Professor Burbage taught the children of witches and wizards that they were no different from Muggles, spat upon the ideal of purity and sought to taint our very blood. We give no quarter to traitors, no mercy to seducers of the innocent." This is the first time a Hogwarts professor has ever been singled out for death because of -

_The sound cuts off. A moment or two later Luna returns, seats herself and resumes her reading:_

LUNA: "The youngest brother did not trust Death, so he asked for something that would enable him to go forth from that place without being followed by Death. And Death, most unwillingly, handed over -

_A man's voice, coming from the bed off-screen, interrupts:_

THE MAN: Did you say Death handed it over "most unwillingly"?

LUNA (_checking her book_): Yes, Daddy; that's what it says.

_The camera reveals MR. LOVEGOOD lying on his back but scribbling notes on a tablet which hovers over his chest. _

MR. LOVEGOOD: I don't think that phrase was there last time. Sometimes the book will change itself, you know; to make it more difficult to track it down. We have to be alert to that sort of thing.

LUNA: We have to expect obstacles when we're on a quest.

MR. LOVEGOOD: Exactly. Very good, my dear. Well, I think that's enough research for the day. Come, let's say goodnight to your mother.

_Luna helps him up out of bed, and the two walk over to a little shrine within the room in which the central object is a large wizarding photograph bordered in black, showing a blonde woman of about thirty-five who now smiles and stretches out her arms as if to embrace her husband and daughter. Luna and her father each place one arm around the other's shoulder, and the free arm to touch one side of the photograph. Their fingers touch those of Luna's mother. Luna and Xeno bow their heads and say, together:_

LUNA, MR. LOVEGOOD: "And the last enemy that shall be destroyed is death."

_Luna puts down her book on the shelf near the photograph, and Xeno puts down his tablet near it, paper side down. They leave the room and the camera focuses on the two items: the cover of Luna's book with its title,"The Tales of Beedle the Bard," and the leather backing of Xeno's tablet, on which is inscribed a triangle containing a circle bisected by a line. The theme music begins to play, and the title, "**HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS**" appears over the items._

_AUTHOR'S NOTE: _I expect to add six more scenes. (As we know, seven is a magically powerful number.) Some of them are just additional angst or fluff ("schmaltz," as we like to say in Yiddish), like an added Harry-Ginny scene, but others are attempts to provide fixes for things which nagged me about DH, especially:

Dumbledore giving the trio the Hallows with one hand and taking them away with the other;

Ron as parseltongue savant;

Snape conveniently carrying pensieve fluid in his eyeballs, just in case, and (above all);

The disappointingly accidental manner in which Harry is able to defeat Voldemort.

(Any other suggestions for what the movie should change?)


	2. Scene Two: The Burrow

**This scene takes place during the events of Chapter Seven ("The Will of Albus Dumbledore")**

_Scene: RON'S ROOM. Harry and Ron are sitting on the bed, Hermione is casting spells at the closed door._

RON: I guess this is headquarters for now, eh? Maybe when the war's over they'll make a museum out of it, put up a plaque like "Here the downfall of You-Know-Who was planned."

_Harry looks around at the room and the camera shows us "headquarters": strewn clothing, discarded school supplies, "Martin Miggs the Mad Muggle" comics, etc., all dominated by the jumbo-sized Chudley Cannons posters, faded but still garish, featuring players with rictus grins hoisting and rehoisting butterbeers. Harry forces a smile to his face._

HARRY: Yeah, sounds about right.

HERMIONE (_having just finished her conjuring_): I put up a distraction charm to get people to forget they were coming to check on us, and the strongest locking spells I know to keep them out even if they get past the distraction charm, and-

RON: What if they just apparate in?

_A pause, as Hermione and Harry realize that they are still thinking like Muggles._

HERMIONE: Well, Ron, we just have to assume that your family has more respect for privacy than that.

_Ron gives out a skeptical snort._

HARRY: There are a lot of people here for the wedding who aren't part of the family, Hermione.

HERMIONE: I know. But what do you expect? I don't know how to put up an anti-apparating ward, and, and do _you_ have any suggestions? Because -

HARRY: No. We're not blaming you -

RON: No, 'course not!

HERMIONE: And in any case, the main thing we're worrying about is eavesdroppers, and they aren't likely to reveal themselves by apparating in.

_There is a sudden flash of fiery light, and a figure partly obscured by the fire appears in the room, sending the startled trio fumbling for their wands. Before they can draw, the fire goes out, revealing..._

HARRY (_softly_): Fawkes? (_He comes closer. We see Fawkes is holding something in one talon._)Fawkes, it's good to see you. Is that – do you have something there for me? From...

_Fawkes gives a slow nod of the head, sings out a note and holds out the little packet. Harry takes it with one hand, and hesitantly reaches out the other to pat the phoenix on the head. Before he can make contact, Fawkes blazes again and disappears. _

_The trio stare for a while at the space he had occupied._

RON: What did he give you, Harry?

HARRY (_opening the packet_): It looks like... three Chocolate Frog cards. Dumbledore cards.

RON (_peering over Harry's shoulder_): No, mate, those aren't Frog cards. They're more like wizarding portraits, miniatures. But I've never seen anything like these exactly.

_The camera shows the cards with cartooned-up versions of a Dumbledore photo, like the face of Obama in the "Hope" posters. Their simplified/stylized nature suggests that the card-portraits don't contain as much magical _oomph_ as the photo-realistic grand portraits we've seen throughout the series._ _The Dumbledores' eyes are closed, and we can barely detect a slow breathing motion in them._

HARRY: There's a letter – two letters – with it.

HERMIONE: Go ahead, read it.

HARRY: Let's all read it.

_The camera shows one letter for a moment, then follows the characters' reactions as we hear Dumbledore's voice reciting it_.

DUMBLEDORE (VO): Harry,

These small portraits may allow me to assist you (and, I hope, Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger) in need. Each has the capacity to contact my larger portrait at Hogwarts; I should from there be able to call upon our friends, large and small. Their power is limited, however; one use will exhaust each.

The rest of what I have to say is of a more personal nature, and you may wish to read it privately, though you are of course free to share as much or as little as you wish with your most excellent, most worthy friends.

_Ron and Hermione nod and start moving away to leave Harry to read on his own._

HARRY (_pulling them back_): Don't be stupid.

_Harry takes out a second parchment from the packet. The voice-over continues:_

DUMBLEDORE (VO): My dear boy,

I do not know how far I was able to assist you in preparation for your task, before my departure. I know that what I have done for you will have been too little, and that which lies before you will seem far too much. I am even more certain that any advice and direction I have given you will have been contaminated with the mistakes of old age and – especially – of vanity.

HARRY (_softly but insistently_): No sir, no, you weren't like that.

DUMBLEDORE (VO): But if you ever thought this advice worthy of your attention, please lend an ear one last time. None of us know in advance when or how they will leave this world, and so I may have fallen victim either to an influenza or a curse. I am sure that in either case I have no reason to fear that my friends did anything less than their best for me.

(_Harry bares his teeth and growls, then goes back to reading_.)

DUMBLEDORE (VO): So whatever anger you may feel either towards fate or towards whichever foe got the better of me-

HARRY: Right, "got the better" of you.

DUMBLEDORE (VO): ...you must try to transfigure that anger into a firmer determination to work towards our goal – a world free of Voldemort's terror.

HARRY: I understand. I do.

DUMBLEDORE (VO): In a terribly ironic way, your strongest ally in this may be Voldemort himself. Even beyond the many ways in which tyrants and would-be tyrants so often cooperate in their own destruction (some foreseeable and some not), I feel that what is left of Tom Riddle realizes, on some level, that he no longer belongs on this life-giving world, being no longer truly alive enough to merit such a blessing.

RON: Yeah, well he's not near dead enough either, is he?

DUMBLEDORE (VO): Finally, Harry, if it were magically possible to mark any statement with a spell that guaranteed its complete truthfulness, I would use that spell on the following words: it has been a marvel to me, unparalleled in my more than a hundred years of life, to come to know you; and there is nobody known to me, living or dead, in whom I would rather have placed the trust that fate has allotted to you.

Adieu, adieu; remember me.

Albus

HARRY: I won't let you – I'll try my best to... (_taking a breath and straightening his shoulders_)I _won't_ let you down, sir.

_The card he addresses remains obstinately motionless. _

_The trio takes a moment to gather themselves._

HARRY: That... closing, signature, "Adieu, remember me"; seems familiar.

HERMIONE: It's from _Hamlet_. The ghost of Hamlet's father says it, swearing him to revenge his death.

_Another short pause_

RON: Listen, he left us those cards, those could be dead useful. Maybe we should make a list, how we could use them, and also what else we have in the bag, what kinds of assets we've got between the three of us.

HERMIONE: "Among" the three... That's really an excellent idea, Ron!

RON: Thanks, Hermione, it means a lot to me to hear that from you.

_Hermione blushes and turns aside. Harry looks at Ron, flabbergasted, and Ron mouths _"The book."

HERMIONE (_to Harry_): I was thinking, remember you told us how Dumbledore said you had a wizard's debt over Pettigrew, and that might be useful one day.

HARRY: Right, right! Is there some specific way I'm supposed to be able to make him pay it?

RON: Yes, you just have to say "Reddatur" to the one who owes you.

HARRY: "Reddatur."

HERMIONE: It means "let it be repayed."

HARRY: And the wand movement?

RON: No wand. That's one of the things about a wizard's debt, it's – even if you're wandless and helpless – in the stories, lots of times the hero is disarmed, tied up, about to get it, and he says "Reddatur!" and the villain has to listen.

HARRY: OK. Then what?

RON: Then you lay out what you expect, what you want them to do in return. It has to be something possible, and it has to be something that isn't, you know, totally against everything they believe in. Like Derward didn't have to repay the debt to Morsmaistre, because he asked Derward to do something he would rather die than go through with, so a life debt isn't big enough to make you do that. And he'd been waiting for years for the right time to pull that, but -

HARRY: OK. And how do you know it's been accepted, agreed to?

RON: The debtor answers "Reddabo."

(_Ron and Harry look at Hermione_.)

HERMIONE: "I will repay."

HARRY: Any way we can test that?

HERMIONE: Actually, Harry, you have life debts from both of us; me from the Dementors third year, Ron for the poison last year.

HARRY: But you've both saved my life too, doesn't that wipe it out?

RON: Not as directly. I'm not sure how that works out.

HARRY (_after a pause_): Well, let's give it a try. (_Another pause_. _Both friends look expectantly at Harry. After a little more hesitation_): OK, Ron: _Reddatur_!

_Nothing seems to happen. _

RON: Um, you have to make the request now, mate.

HARRY (_flustered_): Oh, right, yeah. (_Another painful pause_). Ron, I want you to... when we... First night we're out on our own, you get cleanup duty.

RON (_fake-grimacing, then grinning_): _Reddabo_!

_A white light quickly flares, embracing Ron and Harry_.

HARRY AND RON: Whoa!

RON (_excitedly_): OK, do Hermione now.

HERMIONE: _What _did you say_?_

HARRY: Nah, I think I'll hold onto that for some other time. When I can think of something better.

_Ron's face goes through surprise, suspicion, and a struggle to control and reject those suspicions. Harry notices none of this, but then his eyes widen as if a possibility has dawned on him._

HARRY: Hold on here just a while, OK? Something just – I think I'm going to take a bit of a walk.

HERMIONE: Harry, you can't be thinking -

HARRY: Come on, Hermione, trust me. Look, I'll be right back.

_Harry goes out, the camera following him. We hear the half-muffled sound of Ron asking Hermione "What are you two talking about? What's going on here?" Harry goes up a staircase, comes to a door and – after a brief hesitation – knocks on it._

GINNY (_from within_): Who is it?

HARRY: It's me – Harry.

_Ginny opens the door, lets Harry in, and checks that there are no onlookers before closing it behind her. We enter the well-lived-in room of the teenage girl. It does NOT have a larger-than-life portrait of Harry Potter handing her a rose. Ginny smiles and hugs Harry._

GINNY: It's so good to see you, Harry.

HARRY: You too.

GINNY: Do we have a bit of time to catch up?

HARRY: I hope so. But I also wanted – (_he stammers a bit and settles on a way of evading putting his plan into action for the moment_) That's a nice brooch, is it – anything? New?

_The camera shows a silver brooch below Ginny's shoulder, in the form of the musical treble clef symbol. It's about the size of an iPod nano._

GINNY: Thanks. Yeah, it's a music player.

HARRY: Wow, that small? Magic is amazing. How do you play from it?

_Ginny unpins the brooch and tosses it at him:_

GINNY: It starts when you hold it in your hand.

_Harry of course has instinctively snatched it out of the air, and a fanfare begins, which Harry clearly recognizes._

HARRY: So it plays Muggle music as well as wizarding?

GINNY: Uh-huh. Depending on who's holding it.

_The song proper begins: _

THE PLAYER: Hear me heathens, and wizards, and serpents of sin

All your dastardly doings are past.

For a holy endeavor is now to begin,

And virtue will triumph, at last!

_Harry has been smiling and nodding along, until Ginny declares:_

GINNY: It's charmed to play the song that's most appropriate for the holder at the time.

_Harry's face clouds over._

THE PLAYER: I am I, Don Quixote, the Lord of La Mancha,

My destiny calls and I go.

_Harry makes a move as if to toss the damned thing away, realizes that it's Ginny's and he doesn't want to damage it..._

THE PLAYER: And the wild winds of fortune will carry me onward -

_... and finally finds a surface to put it safely down on, and the music stops. He glares a bit at Ginny, who remains apparently placid._

GINNY: So this Don Quixote, he was a Muggle hero? Slayer of dragons? (_Pause_.) Rescuer of damsels?

HARRY: No. No, he just thought he was some kind of, giant-killer, but really, he was... an idiot. Didn't accomplish anything.

_Pause._

GINNY: Well, maybe something's gone wrong with the charm.

HARRY: Maybe. Listen, though, I probably won't -

_Harry struggles and fumfers for a moment, as Ginny looks at him. Then in the middle of the dithering he suddenly stops and cries out – in a voice which suggests "let's stop stalling"..._

HARRY: _Reddatur_!

_Ginny's face reacts first with shock, which turns to anger and perhaps some fear. After a moment of waiting..._

HARRY: Ginny, I want you to keep yourself safe. Don't put yourself in any position of danger. You'll get through this war, you'll be OK.

GINNY: _Non reddabo!_ I should have known it would be something stupid and _noble_. (_The last word drips with sarcasm_.)

HARRY: Did you say "_NON_ reddabo"? You _won't_ repay?

GINNY: Not that way, no.

HARRY: What does that mean? It goes against your principles to stay alive? You'd rather die than go on living?

GINNY: It goes against my principles to _hide_, while the rest of my family is fighting and risking their lives. I'd rather die than let them, and _you_, get themselves killed protecting me while I stood by doing nothing! Is that something you find hard to understand, Harry Potter?

_Harry's anger gradually abates._

HARRY: No, not really.

GINNY (_becoming calmer herself_): You know, there's hardly anything you could ask me to do which I would say no to, even without a wizarding debt.

_She waits for him to take the hint._

HARRY: I want you to be here if I get back.

GINNY: You want me to "be here," does that mean you're asking me to wait for you? Come on Harry, if that's what you mean, say it.

_Harry shakes his head._

GINNY: Is that "no, I don't care one way or the other," or...

HARRY (_shaking his head more decisively_): No.

GINNY: Right, it's the stupid noble no. Harry, maybe you'd better go back down, people will start looking for you.

HARRY: OK.

_Harry begins to walk away, then turns back._

HARRY: Ginny, I know this is a hard thing for you to talk about to me, especially right now, but anything could be important, and... Is there anything you can think of about Riddle, anything he said to you?

_Ginny pauses a moment to think._

GINNY: He said he was going to take my life, leave my corpse to rot and then go destroy everything that stood in his way. But he couldn't, because you didn't let him.

_Harry allows himself something of a smile at this, nods at Ginny, whispers "Bye – see you," then walks away and out the door. The camera remains on Ginny. She sits down, retrieves her musical brooch from where Harry had placed it, and squeezes it. We hear Julie Jordan singing, from Rodgers & Hammerstein's _Carousel:

THE PLAYER: Common sense may tell you, that the ending will be sad,

And now's the time to break and run away,

But what's the use of wondering if the ending will be sad?

He's your fella, and you love him; there's nothing more to say.

_Ginny releases the brooch, twice makes a motion to smash it, then puts her face in her hands._

FADE OUT.


	3. Scene Three: The Ministry

SCENE: The Ministry. (This scene takes place during the events of Chapter Thirteen, "The Muggle-Born Registration Committee." In this version, Harry, Ron and Hermione have become separated after the snatch of the locket horcrux.)

_Voldemort's servants are chasing Harry. Bureaucrats look up from their desks for a moment at the chase, then hastily look down again as they see that somebody is in for it. The camera focuses on one paper-pusher who does a double-take on seeing Harry run past and hastily gets up to join the chase. Those of us with good memories from _Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire _recognize him as Amos Diggory. He points his wand at Harry, who doesn't stop running but whose eyes widen as he sees Diggory apparently joining in the attack. _

DIGGORY: Ave Atque Vale!

_Harry turns to see what the spell is and what it has done: he finds no harm to himself, but a glance around him shows that everybody and everything is frozen, except for Diggory, who is walking calmly towards him._

DIGGORY: Harry, you may not remember me-

HARRY: Of course I do Mr. Diggory. (_He looks again at the tableau._) I don't know that spell, but – sorry, I mean, thanks, but shouldn't we run? How long before it wears off?

DIGGORY: Not until we're finished.

HARRY: Thats... some spell. Why don't wizards use it more often?

DIGGORY: Nobody can use it more than once. Harry, you were brought up outside the wizarding world, so perhaps you don't know much about our religious beliefs...

_Harry is obviously mystified by this odd segué._

DIGGORY (continuing): ...but most of us believe that after we go on, our souls survive based on people's thoughts of us. So obviously, we would like, all things being equal, to have thoughts, memories, well, deposited, so to speak, in somebody else. Before we die.

_Comprehension is beginning to dawn on Harry._

DIGGORY (continuing): And that person will think of us, and our spirits take... sustenance from those thoughts. Well, this spell is designed to give us that chance, even in desperate circumstances. Do you understand, Harry?

HARRY (_having difficulty looking at Diggory_): It can only be used once. Because -

DIGGORY: Yes. Because once it's done its business, the spell caster has to die. There can't be any hesitating or delaying, or it loses its power. A price for everything, you know. But really, Harry, you don't need to feel sorry for me. I think of myself as lucky, I never thought I would have this kind of chance to use it, to do some damage to the bastards who took Cedric, and snatch you away from them. Oh, they'll be disappointed won't they! Do you think You-Know-Who will torture them when he finds out how you got away? Maybe kill them? Have you killed any of them yet, Harry?

_Diggory has become more agitated as this speech goes on, and Harry is clearly disturbed._

HARRY: No -

DIGGORY: You could do it now, you know. I can't – all my magic's gone. The problem is, I think the spell ends when magic is used, so it would be hard to get all three of them -

HARRY (_putting his hands on Diggory's shoulders to stop the speech_): No! Mr. Diggory. I won't do that. I can't - (_Harry decides to change tactics_) I can't risk it; can't risk not getting them all and then getting caught with this. (_He holds up the locket horcrux_.) This is terribly, terribly important. We can't beat Voldemort without it.

DIGGORY (_waving off his previous suggestion_): Say no more, then. (_Pause. He takes a breath to gather himself._) Well, I'm ready. All you need to do is look me in the eye, and you'll start receiving the memories. Seventeen years worth. Just seventeen...

HARRY: Why...? _Oh_.

DIGGORY: Ah, you thought it was for me! Harry, if you're ever a father... Cedric never had a chance to do this for himself, they just – they just cut him down, like, like he – of course, _you_ know that – so how could I -

HARRY: I understand, sir. I do. And I'll do my best to – you know, make it count. Keep him with me, keep him in my thoughts. (_Pause, considers for a moment, goes on under his breath_) If I get much past seventeen myself.

DIGGORY: You do that, Harry Potter. It'll be one of the best things you'll ever do with your life, if you live to be a hundred, and I hope you do. You hear me?

_Harry nods. The two look at one another, and we see a barrage of images:_

_Cedric playing childhood games..._

_Cedric doing his first magic..._

_Cedric laughing with his parents over his school experiences..._

_up until the last memory which we see at normal speed: Amos and Mrs. Diggory hugging Cedric just before the third task in the Triwizard tournament._

MEMORY AMOS: You're going to show them all, Cedric. You don't have to show _us_ anything, but (_turning to his wife_) - God, can you believe two duffers like us got together and made something like him?

MEMORY CEDRIC: I'm a changeling, didn't you know, Dad? (_Laughter._) Got to go now. (_He kisses both parents_.) Love you both; see you in a while!

_Memory Cedric turns away. His face grows larger and larger on the screen as he does, and the movement slows, as – we deduce – Amos tries desperately to hold onto this last memory as long as he can. The image fades, and we return to Mr. Diggory and Harry in the present._

MR. DIGGORY: Did it work, Harry?

HARRY: Yes. I have it. Will you be –

_He stops as he realizes this sounds like the unbeatable ultimate in stupid questions, but Mr. Diggory understands_.

MR. DIGGORY: They won't have a chance to do anything to me before I go. Now you get away, do what you have to do, and when you get a chance, you'll let Rachel know what happened here. Tell her I'm going to give God a piece of my mind, too, from both of us.

HARRY: Yes sir. Goodbye. Thank you.

_Harry begins to run, sparing an occasional glance back at Mr. Diggory, who waves him on. Finally Diggory is alone. He taps his wand against his hand, the sound and image becoming softer and dimmer._

FADE OUT.


	4. Scene Four: A Campground

SCENE: One of the trio's campgrounds. **(**This scene takes place during the events of Chapter Fifteen, "The Goblin's Revenge.")

_HARRY, seated inside the tent, brings out the Marauders' Map and places it on the table. We see various people's names and areas of the castle flow quickly back and forth, suggesting that Harry is scanning the map for something and ignoring the rest. HERMIONE enters behind him, but he is too wrapped up in this exercise to notice. _

HERMIONE: Harry?

_He is startled for a second, then recovers and smiles to her. She seats herself next to him. She lowers her voice to ask:_

HERMIONE (continuing): What class does she have now?

HARRY: It should be Transfiguration, but she's not in the classroom with McGonnagal. I'm still – Wait a minute, what's -

_We see the map show the Headmaster's office, and the scripts for 'GINEVRA WEASLEY' and 'NEVILLE LONGBOTTOM' moving quickly around in it._

HARRY (_much more loudly_): What is she doing? Why is she there? _Bugger_!

_We see the script for 'SEVERUS SNAPE' coming towards the office._

RON (_Drowsy, obviously wakened and drawn by Harry's shout_): Wha's... what's wrong, what's the shouting?

_Harry gestures frantically to the map. Ron comes to him and looks at it._

RON: Bugger!

_Snape is drawing closer_. _Harry_ _fumbles frantically in his pocket, drawing out the DUMBLEDORE CARD_.

HARRY: Sir! Professor Dumbledore! Ginny's in your office, you've got to tell your portrait to tell them Snape is coming. Professor!

_The DUMBLEDORE CARD does not respond. Its eyes remain closed, and it snores. RON and HERMIONE take out their own cards, also shout to Dumbledore, with rapidly growing frustration, but no results._

HARRY: Dumbledore! Damn it, damn it! WORK, you defective piece of –

_Harry turns back to the MAP. Snape is now ominously close._

HARRY: Stay the hell away from her! Bastard! Prick! Don't you dare touch her!

_He pulls out his wand, points it at "SEVERUS SNAPE," and shouts:_

HARRY_: Impedimenta! Confundus!_

_Streams of 'magic' shoot from the wand to the map, hitting "SEVERUS SNAPE" squarely._

_HERMIONE's off-screen voice cries "Harry!"... sympathetically, if a bit tut-tuttingly_, _because – obviously - it's not possible even magically to have any impact on the real Severus Snape this way._

_Then "SEVERUS SNAPE" stops still at the door as if he has been hit with the impediment charm. _

_Then Snape wanders away, as if he has been confunded. _

_HARRY and RON stare back and forth, flabbergasted, at the map, at Harry's wand, at each other, at HERMIONE._

HERMIONE: You know that – it couldn't have – it had to be coincidence.

RON: I don't care what it was, it worked.

_The MAP now shows "GINEVRA WEASLEY" and "NEVILLE LONGBOTTOM" exiting the room, and putting distance between themselves and "SEVERUS SNAPE." The trio sigh in relief. Silence, which is broken by:_

RON: Harry... You said "stay away from her."

_Harry looks at Ron in confusion._

HARRY: Well, sure.

RON: It was Ginny _and_ Neville in there; why didn't you say "stay away from _them_"?

_Harry flushes as he realizes he has given himself away. After a moment he sets himself to say what needs to be said._

HARRY: We're together, Ron.

RON: _Now_ you're getting together with her? Now that you're Undesirable Number One, you're messing around with my sister -

HERMIONE: Ron, you're not being fair, it wasn't like -

HARRY (_impatiently_): Hermione, it's my -

RON: Oh, what do you know about it, Hermione? What's the fair way of looking at it?

_They are silent for a brief moment, then..._

HARRY: We got together middle of last term. Couple of months before Dumbledore was killed. I never got her involved in anything, I didn't even tell her about where we were going or what we were doing.

RON: And you sure didn't tell _me_ about what you were doing with my sister. Didn't think to mention it while I'm here in this muck, supposed to be your best mate – excuse me, I reckon I'm second best, Hermione's number one with you, she was entitled to know, right?

HERMIONE: No, Ron, I figured it out myself.

RON: Right, so _both_ of you were hiding it from me, that makes it a lot better.

HARRY: Ron, Ginny didn't want me telling you, she thought you'd get all... big brother about it.

RON: So, what, you were going to keep it a secret until you got married? - or dumped her?

HARRY: Well, at least until she wouldn't be making herself Undesirable Number Two!

HERMIONE: Please, _please_ let's not start fighting over this. We're all upset, and tired, and, and we all care about protecting Ginny, Ron, you _know _that Harry wouldn't, wouldn't want her to get... and Harry, you understand that Ron needs to look out for his family, and -

_Hermione's near-tearful rambling seems to have tamped down the macho confrontation. Ron and Harry offer mumbled variations on "Yeah, I guess."_

HERMIONE: Ron, it was your turn to get some sleep, and we – this – interrupted. Why don't you go back to sleep now.

RON: I don't know, I don't know if I can get back -

HERMIONE: We've got to keep to the schedule, if not -

RON: All right, all right! The holy schedule. But Harry – we're not through talking about this.

HARRY: Fine.

_RON walks away and the camera follows him into his compartment in the tent, until he settles himself into bed. _

_The camera pans the roomlet and finds the LOCKET HORCRUX on a bench at the other side of the enclosure. (It has been established that each of them takes turns keeping the horcrux in their compartment, though none of them wear it: Hermione has read _Lord of the Rings_, after all._) _RON begins to nod off, looks blearily at the horcrux to reassure himself it's still there. _

_He half closes his eyes, then half opens them again. The bench, with the horcrux on it, has jumped a meter or so closer to him._

_Again, he closes and opens his eyes. The bench with horcrux has moved another couple of meters._

_Then right next to bed._

RON (_still half-asleep_): Right, Harry... wouldn't lead Ginny... into danger...

'HARRY' (_now sitting on the bench in the spot where the horcrux was_): Of course not, Ron. (_Chuckling_) Why would I toss her away before I was finished with her?

RON: Whaat?

'HARRY': Come on, Ron. She's always had a thing for me, you think she's going to say 'no' to me about anything? Especially when I remind her how I saved her life?

RON (_still talking in half-sleep_): That's not – I don't believe you could – how can you -

'HARRY': Because I'm _entitled_. I'm the Boy Who Lived. I'm the Chosen One! I'm not some poor wizarding nobody. (_Pause_). There's no reason I have to settle for one girl either. You notice how eager Hermione is to take my side?

RON (_suddenly sitting up alert_): YOU SON OF A BITCH, YOU -

_And of course 'Harry' is no longer there; the bench is back to its previous place, the horcrux with it. Ron blinks a few times, shakes his head, closes his eyes and lies back down._

_Then opens his eyes, raises his head a bit, a frown very visible on his face._

_Then closes his eyes, settles his head on the pillow, starts breathing more regularly. But the frown isn't gone._

FADE OUT


	5. Scene Five: The Forest of Dean

SCENE: Forest of Dean. (This scene takes place during the events of Chapter 19, "The Silver Doe." As in the original book and movie version, Ron has just saved Harry from drowning, and Harry is urging Ron to use Griffindor's sword to destroy the locket horcrux. Lines with asterisks* at the end are quoted from the novel.)

HARRY: No, you should do it.*

RON: Me? Why?*

HARRY: Because you got the sword out of the pool. I think it's supposed to be you. I'm going to open it, and you stab it. Straight away, OK? Because whatever's in there will put up a fight.*

RON: I can't, Harry – you do it, that thing's bad for me! I can't handle it!*

HARRY: You can do it, I know it's supposed to be you who uses it. Please, Ron.*

_Ron swallows and nods._

HARRY: One... two... three... _hehsssshahssaah!_*

_Nothing happens for a moment. Ron raises the sword with trembling arms, but before the sword can come down..._

HERMIONE (o_ffscreen_): Ron!

_HARRY and RON look back, and Hermione is there, right behind them. She rushes towards RON and throws herself at his feet, not touching him._

HERMIONE: Oh, Ron, thank God you're here! I've missed you so much -

RON (_staring in amazement_): Hermione, what are you -

HERMIONE: Oh, Ron, after you left - don't blame yourself, Ron, I know you had to go, it's not your fault, HE (_pointing at Harry_) drove you to it -

_Ron's look of shock is turning into one of suspicion. 'HERMIONE' doesn't recognize this._

HERMIONE (continuing): - that was his plan all along, so he could have me to himself, and – and – he forced me, Ron, he forced me! I wasn't strong enough, I couldn't stop him, but I thought about you every time, and now you're here, you're the only one who can save me!

_Pause._

RON: I guess I must have been wanting to hear something like that all along, didn't I?

HERMIONE (_ecstatically_): And now you're back, we're together, it can be like this all the time, as often as you want!

RON: Yeah, 'course it will. But first I have to take care of this horcrux here -

HERMIONE: NO! Potter will attack you while you're defenseless!

HARRY: No problem, Hermione. Just put me in a body bind. Oh, forgot your wand, did you? That's alright, here you go, Ron.

_Harry tosses his wand to Ron, who catches and pockets it._

HARRY: Can't do anything to Ron now, can I, Hermione?

HERMIONE (_to Ron_): It's a trick, Ron; you don't know what kind of power he has, even without a wand!

_Ron gives a short, loud snort of incredulity._

RON: _Harry _is a superwizard?

_Ron turns suddenly and slashes the horcrux in two. There is only a moment for 'HERMIONE' to register surprise and rage before disappearing._

_RON sits on the ground, and HARRY joins him. Ron hands Harry back his wand without really looking at him, and settles down to brooding._

HARRY: So... that was the giveaway, talking about me like I had any kind of magical ability.

RON: Well, you have to admit, mate...

_They share somewhat forced smiles._

HARRY: How did you get here?

RON: I was trying to find you both for ages, as soon as I got my head back on straight. I kept asking Dumbledore, and it was bloody useless. It's raining, it's pouring, the old man is snoring. Then today, he finally talks: Get up, get up, Harry's in danger and you have to go to him. And I could see you, like a photo hanging in the air, walking towards the sword in the lake – he must have conjured it up somehow - and Dumbledore says if I concentrate hard enough on it I can apparate right there. So I did.

_Ron pulls out the DUMBLEDORE CARD, which is now frozen in a posture of peaceful sleep, and hands it to Harry._

RON: I guess he's – it's all gone now.

HARRY: Well, I'm just glad you made it back, mate.

RON: Good to be back.

_Pause._

RON: Now I've got to face Hermione for real. I don't think she's going to be crying tears of joy and – all the rest, like that there.

HARRY: If she does, we'll know we've found another horcrux.

_Ron gives a half-laugh._

RON: So, which way?

HARRY (_pointing_): That way, about a two-minute walk.

_Ron nods, gets up and starts walking. After he's out of hearing distance, Harry picks up the Dumbledore Card._

HARRY: You're a sly old fox, aren't you sir? I don't know how you knew it, that he was going to save my life like that, but you did, didn't you? You wanted to show Ron the way to get back to us, but you were waiting until you knew something like that would happen, so he could show himself he really belonged here. That way he didn't have to feel like he was crawling back and begging for a chance. He would know we still needed him.

_Pause. THE DUMBLEDORE CARD remains silent and motionless._

I don't think I'll tell him this, just yet. He'd be mighty hacked off at you if he knew. But one day maybe we'll have a chance to tell him, and he'll be able to laugh about it.

HERMIONE (offscreen, in the distance): You – complete – _arse – _Ronald Weasley!*

RON (offscreen, in the distance): Hermione, you don't know how happy I am to hear you say that to me.

HERMIONE (offscreen, in the distance): You... you... WHAT?

_Harry smiles._

FADE OUT


	6. Scene Six: Malfoy Manor

SCENE: Malfoy Manor**. **(This scene takes place during the events of Chapter 23, "Malfoy Manor." _N.B_., in this version of The Deathly Hallows, Harry never lost his wand.)

_In the main hall, Bella is leading Hermione away to be tortured; Greyback and Pettigrew are taking Ron and Harry to the dungeon; Lucius, Narcissa and Draco are standing idle and unwanted in the background. _

GREYBACK: Reckon she'll let me have a bit of the girl when she's finished with her? I'd say I'll get a bite or two, wouldn't you, Ginger?*

_RON and HARRY look desperately at each other, and at HERMIONE,who seems to suddenly come to a decision._

HERMIONE (loudly and firmly): Professor Dumbledore!

_BELLATRIX stares at Hermione with open-mouthed delight._

BELLATRIX: Listen to that, Cissy: a prayer to the dead!

HERMIONE: Albus Dumbledore! Malfoy Manor!

BELLATRIX: Go ahead, girl, scream some more! You have to be louder to wake the dead! Remember all the maggots stuffing his old, dead ears, mudblood! (_Points her wand at Hermione's throat._) Scream louder!

HERMIONE: ALBUS – PERCIVAL – BRIAN – WULFRIC – DUMBLEDORE!

_BELLATRIX is starting a hysterical laugh when DOBBY appears in the middle of the hall and blasts her into the nearest wall with a wave of his hand. There is a moment's incredulous silence, which HARRY takes advantage of:_

HARRY: Dobby! (_points at _GREYBACK) Our wands!

DOBBY: Yes, Harry Potter, sir!

_Dobby gestures again, and the wands come flying to him while Greyback goes flying in the other direction. Dobby sends the wands to the trio, and the magical battle begins._

_RON'S "_Stupefy!" _knocks down LUCIUS with an ease and rapidity that indicates how low the old Death Eater has fallen._

_HERMIONE engages NARCISSA; DRACO puts up a shield over his mother, giving her an advantage that helps her push Hermione back. Ron comes to Hermione's assistance and the advantage swings to their side._

_PETTIGREW and HARRY fight, Pettigrew retreats, Harry hits him with an _"Incarcerous".

_GREYBACK comes out of nowhere and leaps on top of Harry, bearing him down to the ground with a painful crash. DOBBY jumps on Greyback, cursing and biting until Greyback screams and releases Harry. Dobby knocks out Greyback with a point-blank blast of magic._

_BELLATRIX returns to the fight and shouts curses furiously at Hermione, forcing Ron to shield her. Harry casts spells at Narcissa, and Draco again shields his mother. Bellatrix now faces Ron, Hermione and Dobby._

BELLATRIX (_while fighting off all three_): Draco! Let your mother defend herself and curse Potter!

_Draco hesitates._

BELLATRIX: (_still blocking_): _Draco_! No, wait: call the Dark Lord, and he will come for Potter!

_Draco still hesitates, but begins to raise his wand to his mark. Harry turns towards him, leaving himself open to Narcissa's attack which forces him back on the defensive. Draco seems to have a clear opportunity now to make the 'call', but still hesitates, and DOBBY summons his wand away._

DOBBY (head bowed): Sorry, young master.

BELLATRIX: You miserable worm! Coward! Traitor!

_Bellatrix's rage fuels a wave of magic that blows back the trio and Dobby. The camera goes to HARRY as we hear:_

BELLATRIX: Crucio!

_Harry flinches, but nothing happens to him. The camera moves to show DRACO under the curse, crying in pain. Narcissa shrieks and runs between Bellatrix and her son, then falls and cries as the curse rakes her. _

BELLATRIX: Useless, worthless... It's all down to me, is it? _Exuro!_

_Fiendfyre flames arise in animal form, hunting for prey to burn. Dobby is closest and gets the worst of it. Bellatrix laughs maniacally and goes on laughing as the trio come to try to put out the fire on Dobby and cast some healing spells. _

_Other "flaminals" pursue Draco, and one is about to catch him when Harry casts a shield spell over him. But some flame gets through and Draco is beginning to burn. Harry rushes over, pulls the invisibility cloak out of his waistcoat, and beats out the flames with it. The cloak shows no damage. _

_Bellatrix points her wand at Harry and Draco, and Harry pulls the cloak over Draco and himself while still running and pushing Draco along. We see now, from Harry's point of view, the flaminals growling and sniffing, but always flowing around him, as if the deadly forms are not allowed to touch him._

NARCISSA: Bella, my God, what are you doing? Thisis the _Malfoy _home! I banish you from it - _Expulso ex domo!_

_Bellatrix is in the middle of another peal of mad laughter when the spell hits her. She and all the flames seem to be vacuumed out of the scene at once. The camera pans around the ruined hall. _

_Ron and Hermione are still incanting healing charms over Dobby, who is trembling more and more weakly. _

_Harry removes the cloak and works his way over to them, still pointing his wand half-heartedly at Narcissa. Narcissa shakes her head._

NARCISSA: I have no reason to fight you now. Bellatrix will be sure to tell the Dark Lord that she had you beaten until I attacked her. We'll all go to the top of the death list now. We'll have to leave our home and go into hiding.

_Harry looks at Dobby. Hermione shakes her head._

NARCISSA: Once the Malfoy family is gone, the wards will go down, you'll be able to apparate out. I swear on my magic that this isn't a trick: I owe you a life debt, for my son.

RON: Harry, I don't think -

HARRY: No, I believe her, Ron.

NARCISSA: Potter, if you want revenge on my sister, I know what's the worst thing you can possibly to do her. The Dark Lord gave her a cup which he said came down from Helga Hufflepuff -

_The trio's eyes go wide._

NARCISSA: - and told her it was worth more than her life. It's in her vault at Gringotts if you can get to it. Oh, and there are prisoners in the dungeon here, some of them friends of yours I think. (_She walks over to the unconscious Lucius_) Enervate.

_Lucius gets up groggily and looks at Narcissa and the others in confusion_.

NARCISSA: I'll explain later. We have to go, now.

_Narcissa, Lucius and Draco disappear._

_Dobby stops moving. Harry picks him up._

_The somber trio, with the dead Dobby in Harry's arms, make their way towards the dungeon. They pass Greyback unmoving on the floor, and look down on him. This distracts them from the sudden motion of the Death Eater they haven't accounted for..._

PETTIGREW: Don't move! Drop your wands!

_He has seized Harry's neck with the silver hand and snatched away Harry's wand with the other._

_Ron and Hermione put their wands on the floor._

PETTIGREW: Accio!

_The wands fly into his wand hand; he now has four of them which he points back at Ron and Hermione._

PETTIGREW: I've called for the Dark Lord. He'll be here, soon. (_Pettigrew is not so much gloating in villain style as he is putting into words his own astonishment that things are finally working out for him.)_ They all failed him: Lucius, Narcissa, Bellatrix, all couldn't hold you. I'm going to be the one -

HARRY: _Reddatur_! Be a rat,and _stay that way till you die! _

_The wave of white magic surrounds Pettigrew as it had earlier with Ron. _

PETTIGREW (despairingly): Redabbohhhhhh_!_

_Pettigrew transforms: slowly, jerkily – obviously unwillingly. The wands clatter to the floor and the trio scramble for them._

_As Harry bends down, Scabbers gives a SCREEE of rage and launches itself at his hand, furiously biting what it can get it. Harry gives a yelp of pain and surprise and shakes the rat off._

_Scabbers, on the ground, is about to jump at Harry again when a foot comes crashing down which Scabbers barely avoids. Then another foot crushes its tail and one hind leg. Scabbers shrieks in pain, but still scrambles away and flees. The camera picks up RON, whose foot has done the damage and who is now pointing his wand at the rat._

HARRY: Ron, no! _Leave it, Ron!_

_Ron halts the curse that was on his lips. The trio make their way down to the dungeon._

FADE OUT.


	7. The End

A/N This chapter is about as long as the rest put together, but it does form one continuous scene. (There was one plot point which held me up for weeks, trying to solve how to get certain characters in place to do certain things, and I'm still not satisfied with how I contrived it. See if you can guess what it was.)

SCENE: Hogsmeade. (This scene begins during the time covered by Chapters 29 and following). As in the movie version it is a vision which reveals to Harry that Nagini is a horcrux, but here he also sees clearly that it's Ravenclaw's diadem in the room of hidden things at Hogwarts. The trio have made their way to Hogsmeade – Harry and Ron under the invisibility cloak and Hermione having disillusioned herself – thinking to get into Hogwarts through the passageway under the Shrieking Shack. But when they arrive at the spot, it isn't there.)

HARRY: What happened – where – did they tear it down?

RON: If they did, they would have found the passage. We've got to find another way into Hogwarts.

HERMIONE: No, wait – look, those two buildings (_pointing_): there, and there; why would they move the buildings together? It's here, the Shack is here, but -

HARRY: Under Fidelius, right. Got to be.

RON: Alright, but – ours or theirs?

_The three pause._

HARRY: Hermione, can you send a patronus message?

_She nods._

HARRY: So – we stay under until we see who comes out. And the message should be...

_The trio look at one another for ideas_.

RON: Doesn't much matter, does it? Anything that would make our side come take a look would make their side come out too.

_The trio try to think of a way around this, but can't._

HERMIONE: Right. Expecto Patronum!

_The otter appears and waits in the air._

HERMIONE: Go inside, and tell them... "We hope there are some friends of Harry Potter in there, because we're out here and we could really use some help."

_The otter flies obediently towards the invisible house, and disappears. The trio wait for a response. _

_Ten seconds or so pass. _

_At last a wolf flies towards them, hovers near Harry and speaks:_

REMUS/THE WOLF: What was the last thing Harry said to me when we last met?

_Harry pauses and gathers himself._

HARRY: I called you a coward for not wanting to be with your son.

_The wolf vanishes and the Shrieking Shack begins to spread out from its hiding place. Remus is at the door, beckoning them._

REMUS: Come on, quickly now.

_The trio rush in. As the door closes behind them, the shack shrinks to nothing. The scene now shifts to the interior. Quick hugs are exchanged, including one between Harry and Remus. Harry begins to say something, presumably an apology, but Remus cuts him off._

REMUS: Well. We do have some friends of Harry Potter here. (_Calling to somebody offscreen_:) It's really them, you can come out.

_Ginny and Neville come rushing towards the group. Harry meets Ginny half way and they share a passionate embrace. _

REMUS: Better friends than I knew, obviously.

HARRY (_after disentangling_): Listen, we've got to make this fast. You-Know-Who is coming. We might have a half-hour, tops. We've got to get something from Hogwarts, from the Room of Requirement. I can explain more on the way, but we have to get going.

REMUS: Harry, wait, one question, just one: is this absolutely necessary? Because what we're here for -

HERMIONE: Indispensable, professor.

RON: We can't beat You-Know-Who without it.

REMUS: Alright.

_They open the trapdoor and proceed through the tunnel to Hogwarts. The following dialogue takes place as all six are walking briskly through it towards Hogwarts._

HERMIONE: Harry, I think we need to give them the whole story. There's not much point in holding back on it now.

HARRY: Right. We found that You-Know-Who had made these things, called horcruxes...

_The scene fades out slowly and picks up again at another place further down the tunnel; implicitly, Harry has finished the story which we don't need to hear again. _

HARRY: ...so you see why, if this – well, no matter what, somebody's got to kill the snake. And maybe we'll have time for me to get down to the Chamber, to get some basilisk fangs. Ron figures that if one of them destroyed the diary, it should be able to do in the others we're carrying too.

GINNY: I'll go there while you're getting the diadem.

HARRY: It has to be me, Ginny, it can only be opened by a parselmouth and there are only two of us.

GINNY: (_Hisses in parseltongue_) _**No, there are three of us. One by birth, and two by contagion.**_

_They all stop still for a moment, and Hermione, Neville and Remus stare at her in shock; Ron seems torn between tears and rage. Harry and Ginny both glare back at the starers. _

HARRY: (_Hisses to Ginny in parseltongue_) _**Then that's just one more place where he'll bite himself to death.**_

_They nod decisively to one another._

_The scene shifts to further down the passageway. The group keeps walking briskly as they converse._

HERMIONE: Professor, what have you been doing here?

REMUS: We're helping people escape, Hermione. Think of it as the first stop on the underground railroad. For Muggleborns, opponents of the regime in general. More and more students now who couldn't take it anymore.

RON: (_Looking at Ginny_) Couldn't take what, exactly? What are they doing?

NEVILLE: You know the Carrows? Two Death-Eaters who teach here. Amycus, the bloke, he teaches what used to be Defence Against the Dark Arts, except now it's just the Dark Arts. We're supposed to practise the Cruciatus Curse on people who've earned detentions.*

THE TRIO: _What?*_

NEVILLE: Yeah. Crabbe and Goyle love it. Get 'Outstanding' regularly now. First time ever for them, I expect.*

_The trio stare at Ginny and Neville, who try to shrug._

HARRY: Ginny, Neville, can you contact the rest of the D.A.? And Remus, can you contact the rest of the order?

_Nods and affirmations from the three._

HARRY: Because he's coming – and if this works, what we're doing with the horcruxes... we might not get a better chance to take him down. I think – I think it's going to end today. One way or the other.

_Pause, as everybody tries to digest this._

REMUS: Alright. Here's -

HERMIONE: Wait, wait just one moment. Harry, we're in the castle, couldn't Dumbledore be able to do something to help us?

NEVILLE: _Dumbledore_?

_Hermione waves him silent. Harry remains stubbornly silent himself for a moment._

HERMIONE: Harry!

HARRY: Yeah.

_Harry takes out the card. The camera pulls in on it, and we continue looking at it as Harry speaks offscreen._

HARRY: Professor! Professor? Can you help us?

_Dumbledore remains asleep._

HARRY (_almost shouting_): Why? Why can't you help us? What are you hiding now? (_After a deep breath_) It's no use. Come on.

REMUS: Well. Here's where we split up. Harry, I'll take the map; you go under the cloak. (_He cuts off Harry's protest._) You say this is the most important task, and you have to do the most important part of it, that makes you the one who gets the strongest protection. Neville and I will watch your back. Ginny, Ron, Hermione: you know the way to the Chamber. We meet back here when we're finished, or at the Chamber entrance if this is closed or guarded.

_They move in their separate directions, hesitantly at first and with many glances backward, then faster and straight ahead. Consulting the Marauders' Map as they go, Remus leads Neville and Harry quickly and silently through the halls until they reach the Room of Requirement. Remus gestures Harry in, while he and Neville take up guard positions outside._

_Inside, Harry takes off the cloak and scrambles and turns through the mess, trying to orient himself in a way which will match up with the memory of the vision he received from Voldemort revealing the diadem's place. Items clatter down around him as his haste and frustration causes him to disturb their delicate balance. _

_At one point he stops suddenly short. There before him is the Mirror of Erised, and an image quickly forms on it: Harry standing over a kneeling, wandless Voldemort who is obviously pleading for his life. With a gesture of infinite scorn, Harry flicks his wand at the Dark Lord and silences him forever. Ginny dances up to him and gives him his hero's reward..._

_Harry closes his eyes, shakes his head, and turns his back on the scene. After some further running and turning, the scene before his eyes finally matches the one in his head. He finds and snatches the diadem, then races back towards the entrance._

_Harry goes through the door and almost steps directly into a crossfire of spells. There are four opponents barely being held off by Remus and Neville, and Harry can see more running down the hall towards them. Harry enters the fray with more enthusiasm than success. Remus pivots towards Harry._

REMUS: Ave atque vale!

_Everything and everybody freezes._

HARRY: NO! Take it back!

_Harry seizes Remus by the collar and starts shaking him. Remus gently wards him off and awkwardly tries to pat Harry's shoulder reassuringly._

HARRY: Take it back, take it back! Take it back... (_The chant loses energy towards the end, Harry realizing there is no way to take it back._)

REMUS: Ah. Well, I see I don't have to explain the spell, do I. Harry, there was no other way. Either this, or we all are killed or captured. You must see that.

_Harry has slumped to the floor and is shaking his downturned head._

HARRY: What am I going to say to her?

REMUS: Just tell her what happened, how it happened. We both knew this was the – well, the most likely result. I don't think the words will matter that much in any case.

_Harry looks around and sees that Neville is still frozen too._

REMUS: You'll have to carry him back when we're finished here. Look at me, Harry.

_Harry nods and looks at Remus. The memories burst upon him (and us): _

_The child Remus playing with toys his parents levitate around him;_

_The child Remus running in terror from a wolf and being pounced upon;_

_The pain and horror of the first transformation;_

_Pre-teen Remus introduced to James and Sirius; their animagus transformations, and a romp in the forest;_

_Remus and Sirius with James, Lily singing to the infant Harry in his crib, _

"_Sleep my child and peace attend thee,  
All through the night  
Guardian angels God will send thee,  
All through the night"_

_... and Remus looks on mother and child with a smile that is tinged with melancholy;_

_Remus kneeling at the graves of James and Lily;_

_Remus and Tonks with Teddy, Tonks singing to the infant child,_

"_Love to thee my thoughts are turning_

_All through the night_

_And for thee my heart is yearning_

_All through the night"_

_and looking up at Remus as she continues_

"_Though sad fate our lives may sever_

_Parting will not last forever_

_There's a hope that leaves me never_

_All through the night"_

_...and Remus looks on mother and child with joy and astonishment._

_Another scene; a wolf snarls from behind bars. Tonks cautiously walks towards the cage, Teddy in her arms, still keeping a respectful distance. She is cooing and muttering to her child – we can hear "your daddy, don't be afraid" – and looking up from time to time to see if the soft words are having any effect on the wolf. It seems they are, as the growls become briefer and more subdued. Tonks comes just a little closer. _

_The wolf lets out a fierce snarl and tries to snatch the baby._

_The infant Teddy screams, and Tonks quickly retreats, her back to Remus as she shields the child. She looks back over her shoulder at the wolf, with fear and reproach on her face._

_We return to the present scene._

REMUS: I think you might understand my actions a little better now?

_Harry nods._

REMUS: Goodbye, Harry.

HARRY: Goodbye, Moony. I'll think of you every time I see Dora and Teddy.

_Remus offers an awkward smile and a pat on the shoulder. Harry turns to the frozen Neville, and after some false starts, finds a way to do a makeshift fireman's carry. He walks down the hall, still unable to resist turning back to Remus from time to time. Each time, Remus nods and raises his hand in a motion which could be a wave, could be a blessing._

FADE OUT

* * *

THEN FADE IN TO:

SCENE: The Chamber of Secrets. Ginny, Ron and Hermione each carry a sack of fangs. They pace nervously. A sound makes them look up towards the tunnel leading up.

HARRY (off-screen): _Hehsssshahssaah!_

NEVILLE (off-screen): Harry – what – Remus?

HARRY: He's gone, Neville.

_The faces of Hermione, Ron and Ginny express their shock and grief._

HARRY (off-screen): We have to go down now.

_After a few seconds of skidding sounds, Harry and Neville arrive at the bottom. The three others offer them hugs, Ginny's for Harry naturally lasting a little longer._

HARRY: Remus sacrificed himself for us. (_He looks at the fangs._) You got them! Great work. Hermione?

_Hermione sets the cup down on the ground, and Harry puts the diadem beside it. Without hesitation, and without looking at the others for consent or comment, Ginny hands a fang to Harry, who sits on the ground next to the diadem, and pulls out another for herself, sitting by the cup and facing Harry._

HARRY: On three.

_They pull back the fangs to strike, and two apparitions instantly appear back to back: Lily, facing Harry; and Molly, facing Ginny. Each throws out her arms, and calls out to her mark._

HORCRUX MOLLY: Ginny, darling, you...

HORCRUX LILY: Harry, no, you can't...

_Each is plainly intent on a long and passionate oration, but they never get the chance; neither Harry nor Ginny pause for a moment, or even glance away from the horcruxes at their "mothers", instead plunging the basilisk fangs unerringly at the cup and diadem. The "mothers" disappear in puffs of black smoke, and we see the ruins of the horcruxes lying on the floor of the Chamber, the fangs beside them._

_Harry and Ginny wordlessly help one another up. Nobody looking at their faces now would be particularly eager to challenge either of them._

THE DUMBLEDORE CARD (_offscreen_): Well done, all of you.

_The quintet, especially Neville and Ginny, startle at the voice. Harry pulls the card out of his robe pocket. Close-up on the card._

THE DUMBLEDORE CARD: Harry, you are close enough now that I think it's time for me to share something with you.

HARRY: _Now? _You've decided it's _time_? Well, go ahead. I'mnot going to keep anything from my friends.

THE DUMBLEDORE CARD: No, it must be private, Harry. You will understand -

HARRY: Forget it. (_He stuffs the card back in his pocket and turns to the others._)They're still blocking the passageway to the Shrieking Shack. We -

THE DUMBLEDORE CARD (_offscreen_): Harry, this is immensely important -

HARRY: Shut up! I don't have time for this!

_Harry pulls out the card and flings it out into the darkness. But after a decent interval, when Harry's back is turned – and while the following dialogue is taking place – Hermione does a silent summoning spell to retrieve the card, then levitates it into one of Harry's side pockets. _

HARRY(_to the others, continuing the previous thought_): We can try to go back and fight our way past them.

GINNY: We can get out of Hogwarts through here.

HARRY: How can...? _Oh_.

GINNY (_parseltongue_): _**Yes, another legacy from Tom. **_And then we meet up with the Order and DA in Hogsmeade. We should get moving.

_They follow Ginny's brisk pace, talking as they go._

NEVILLE: And what are we aiming to do when we get there? Do we wait for Voldemort, to finish him?

HARRY: I think – yes, he – no, maybe we won't have to -

HERMIONE: Harry, let's try to make it to the Shack.

RON: And we'll all be under Fidelius then, so we can see what it looks like from there.

HARRY: OK. OK.

_Cut. We pick up again with the five passing through an apparently solid rocky wall, one quickly after the other._

GINNY: The Shrieking Shack is about half a mile that way. It's – look!

_We follow her gesture, and see a spell battle going on in the distance. Zooming in reveals Death Eaters vs. DA. The two sides are pretty evenly matched in numbers – the students perhaps having the advantage there – but the Death Eaters are beating back the DA. We zoom back to the quintet._

HARRY: Let's go!

RON: Wait, just a second – each of us, pick out a target to apparate behind, then stun them. Everybody got one?

GINNY: I can't apparate.

HARRY: I'll side-along you.

HERMIONE: No, Harry, you'd both need a few seconds to recover and you'd be sitting ducks.

_A moment of hair-tearing frustration for everybody._

HARRY: Here! (_He digs out his Invisibility Cloak and tosses it to her._) Follow us on foot.

_A deep breath later, there are four disappearances. The scene shifts immediately to the spell battle, and the quartet appear again, wands out and "STUPEFY!" on their tongue. Hermione and Ron hit their targets, who go down. But Harry and Neville have both chosen the same target, have appeared almost on top of one another, and their arms collide, sending the spells astray. The target they have both chosen turns and speaks._

BELLATRIX: _Potter!_

_The battle pauses for a split second as everyone turns to Harry. It resumes immediately, with spells flying furiously. The DA seems to take the upper hand for a moment, but the deadlier spells and deadlier skills of the older wizards – especially Bellatrix – takes its toll._

_Colin Creevey is cut down by a killing curse from Bellatrix. Cries of rage and grief from the DA, chortling from Bellatrix._

_Harry is pinned down by two Death Eaters and is apparently about to be defeated when he suddenly vanishes. The Death Eaters halt in confusion. _

_The camera reveals that Harry and Ginny are both wearing the invisibility cloak and they are serpentining away, trying to catch an unwary foe or two without giving away their location._

_Fred tosses out a huge cloud of glop to distract the enemy, while George desperately conjures barriers for the rest. Harry, Ginny, Neville, Ron and Hermione are united again._

BELLATRIX: Better save your friends, Potter, you're running out of them! Come out and give yourself up. Or... maybe you think you can beat me!

_Harry is beginning to get up and go over the barrier to challenge Bellatrix._

NEVILLE (_pointing his wand at Harry_)_:_ Petrificus Totalis!

_Neville now steps over the barrier and begins walking towards Bellatrix._

BELLATRIX (_laughing_): Longbottom, I'd forgotten you were here! I'll get to have another kill, then.

NEVILLE (_still advancing_): You're not killing anybody ever again, you sick -

BELLATRIX: And how do you think -

_She never gets a chance to finish; Neville disappears and then, near instantaneously, where Bellatrix was standing there is now a chaos of smoky tendrils; for a fraction of a second it seems there are limbs, torsos and heads swirling about the space._

_Then there is a terrific explosion._

_The sound of the explosion dies down, and we see its aftermath: the Death Eaters have borne the worst of the shock (since the epicenter was in Death Eater territory), and some are on the ground and not moving; the DA members are not quite so badly off, but still shaken and struggling to get up. The magical barrier has been destroyed, and Harry is doing a drunkard's walk, with the others (not too much steadier) trying to hold and support him._

AMYCUS CARROW (_to his fellow Death Eaters_): They're crazy... They're _crazy_! Fall back to the forest; the Dark Lord will settle them!

_There is a mass disapparation, and the DA is left in possession of the field._

HARRY: What happened?

HERMIONE (_her voice shaking_): Neville apparated directly into Lestrange. They couldn't – you can't have two bodies in the same place. That's what caused the, the -

HARRY: So... he's splinched? Let's put him -

HERMIONE: No, Harry, no. You can't – nobody can survive that. They were both – it was like a small nuclear explosion.

HARRY: But... then how are we going to bury Neville?

_Ron, Ginny and Hermione look at Harry, then at one another. Around them, the other DA members are gathering themselves, and they seem to be looking to this group for further instructions._

HARRY: I mean... like Dobby, if I can't save him, at least I can bury him. We have to bury Neville, and Colin too of course.

GINNY: Harry, I think you're in shock.

HERMIONE (_after waving her wand over Harry's head_): And concussed. We have to -

GEORGE: Look, I think we ought to head to the Shack, and treat him there. The Order is probably still clearing Hogwarts of Death Eaters.

FRED: In fact, in one of those marvelous ironies of war, we have them to thank for sending that lovely bunch in our direction.

RON: They're right, we should get going towards the Shack.

FRED AND GEORGE: Oh, well if General _Ron_ confirms the order...

RON: Yeah, get stuffed. It's good to see you, by the way.

_There is some awkward hugging and other greetings, and the group begins marching to the Shrieking Shack. _

_After a few moments, Harry grips his scar. We see Voldemort's face in Harry's vision, and hear:_

VOLDEMORT (_offscreen_): Harry Potter. Harry Potter, I speak directly to you. You have permitted your friends to die for you rather than face me yourself. I shall wait for one hour in the Forbidden Forest, If, at the end of that hour, you have not come to me, have not given yourself up, then I shall enter the fray myself, Harry Potter, and I shall find you, and I shall punish every last man, woman and child who has tried to conceal you from me. One hour. *

_The DA surround Harry with questions and concern, but show no sign of having heard Voldemort's message. Harry has no opportunity to explain, for now SNAPE apparates within yards of Harry._

SNAPE: Expelliarmus_! _

_Harry's wand flies out of his hand, and Harry is thrown back._

_Snape pursues the fallen Harry, but simultaneously Ron, Hermione and Ginny are covering Harry and dragging him further away, and the rest of the D.A. recover themselves and start attacking Snape._

_Snape is shielding and deflecting most of the spells, and trying to get closer to Harry, but with the element of surprise gone, and with so many opponents to fight off, his progress gets slower._

_Inevitably a spell gets through, it's not clear from whom: a cutting curse which leaves a trail of blood on his left arm. Snape gives a wince and a quick glance, but tries to continue. _

_Another curse opens up his left side._

PADMA: Outstanding!

_Some laughter and cheers greet this sarcastic allusion to the disciplinary measures under Headmaster Snape. Snape only gets a step further before another cut slices a deep scar across his forehead, and blood starts to pour into Snape's eyes._

ERNIE, SEAMUS, OTHERS: _Outstanding!_

_More cheers. Snape tries to heal his cuts, and a barrage of spells hit his legs, leaving them shredded. Snape falls to the ground._

THE DA, IN CHORUS: _OOOUUUT-STANDING! _

_Now it's open season. DA members are coming up on Snape and hitting him at point-blank range, as the cheers continue: _OUTSTANDING, OUTSTANDING!_ Harry, Ginny and Ron are joining in too, though Hermione looks sick._

_The DA finally cease fire and stand back. Snape is riddled with long, bleeding cuts and scarcely moving or breathing. He clearly does not have long to live unless treated immediately, and nobody is volunteering._

_Harry now tears himself out of the grasp of his 'guardians' and gets in Snape's face._

HARRY: Are you happy now? You're going to die a murderer and a slave, and -

SNAPE (_barely able to raise his wand and speak_): Ave atque vale!

_The DA members freeze, many still in postures of celebration._

_Harry quickly snatches Snape's wand out of his hand and stuffs it in his pocket. He then turns his back on Snape, who is quivering and gasping on the ground._

HARRY: You can't be serious. You think _I'm_ going to be your, soul-guardian?

SNAPE: Potter!

HARRY: Or is this – you're going to show me all the people you've killed and tortured...

SNAPE: Potter! Look at me!

HARRY: ...as a going-away present? Forget it.

SNAPE: Potter, in the name of your blessed mother, _look at me_!

HARRY (_turning to Snape in shock and outrage_): WHAT did you -

_And as he turns to look Snape in the eye, the memories come, as in "The Prince's Tale": _

_Snape and Lily as children._

_Snape and Lily at Hogwarts._

_Snape begging Dumbledore to protect her and her family._

_Snape sobbing in grief._

_Dumbledore plotting his own death with Snape the executioner. And..._

MEMORY DUMBLEDORE: Now listen closely, Severus. There will come a time after my death when Lord Voldemort will come seeking for Harry, with mad desperation even greater than his usual hatred. When that time comes, you must tell Harry.

MEMORY SNAPE: Tell him what?*

MEMORY DUMBLEDORE: Tell him that on the night Lord Voldemort tried to kill him, when Lily cast her own life between them as a shield, the Killing Curse rebounded upon Lord Voldemort, and a fragment of Voldemort's soul latched itself on to Harry. And while that fragment remains, Lord Voldemort cannot die.*

MEMORY SNAPE: So the boy... the boy must die?*

MEMORY DUMBLEDORE: And Voldemort himself must do it, Severus. That is essential.*

MEMORY SNAPE: I thought... all these years... that we were protecting him for her. For Lily. I have spied for you, and lied for you, everything was supposed to be to keep Lily Potter's son safe. Now you tell me you have been raising him like a pig for slaughter?*

MEMORY DUMBLEDORE: But this is touching, Severus. Have you grown to care for the boy, after all?*

MEMORY SNAPE: For _him_? _Expecto patronum!*_

_The silver doe bursts from his wand; she lands on the office floor, bounds once across the office and soars out of sight.*_

MEMORY DUMBLEDORE: After all this time?*

MEMORY SNAPE: Always!*

_The memory fades, and we return to the present. Harry at Snape, then kneels on the ground beside him. Snape is motionless, and his eyes are closed; he does not quite seem at peace, though._

HARRY (_voice shaking_)_:_ I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Professor. You miserable bastard, I'm sorry!

_Harry gets up and looks around. All his friends are still frozen. _

_Ron. Hermione. Ginny._

_Harry looks at them all, for a long while, and turns at last to Ginny. Her expression is caught between fear for Harry and blazing anger at his stupidity in going up to Snape like that. Her arms are out, as she was trying to pull him back, and they look like they're still trying to pull him back from where he knows he needs to go._

_Harry shakes his head. He turns and begins walking away, towards the Forbidden Forest._

FADE OUT

* * *

THEN FADE IN TO:

SCENE: The Forbidden Forest.

_Harry continues walking._

THE DUMBLEDORE CARD (_offscreen_): So you have discovered the truth.

_Harry is startled for a moment, then takes out the card and addresses it. walking._

HARRY: Yeah. You did a good job of hiding it. Secrets and lies, like your brother said.

THE DUMBLEDORE CARD: I am sorry, Harry. If I could have thought of any other way, for you or for poor Severus, I would have seized on it.

_Harry stops walking, and sighs._

HARRY: Yeah. I actually do believe you about that.

THE DUMBLEDORE CARD: As little as I deserve that trust, I am grateful for it.

_The two remain silent for a while. Harry manages a half-smile to Dumbledore, and seems about to put the card away._

THE DUMBLEDORE CARD: Harry, I was made with a purpose, in addition to that of finally revealing the need for your death. I can help you find some measure of comfort in facing it. It should be in sight momentarily.

_In the distance a tiny fluttering object appears in the sky near Hogwarts. It flies closer and reveals itself as a Golden Snitch._

_Harry snatches it and smiles bemusedly._

HARRY (_softly_): 'Potter's got it, the match is over. Gryffindor wins.'

THE DUMBLEDORE CARD: What you have, Harry, is not just the snitch – which you caught with your accustomed skill – but something much rarer within.

_The snitch opens, revealing a smaller object inside. Harry looks at it._

HARRY: This is the stone in the ring you were wearing last year. And – (_he looks now at the Dumbledore Card_) – this is the Resurrection Stone, isn't it?

THE DUMBLEDORE CARD: It is, Harry. And it was my mad fury to possess it which - well, nothing is more tedious than a twice-told tale.

_Harry marvels at the stone for a little while._

HARRY: Thank you, professor. You know, a thought occurred to me; what would happen if I used the _Ave atque vale_ charm on Voldemort?

_'Dumbledore's' eyes open in surprise._

THE DUMBLEDORE CARD: Do you know, Harry, that is a thought which simply never occurred to me. Since we have already seen how excruciating Tom finds any contact with your mind, to place your memories there permanently... But I have to advise against it. The consequences would just be too unpredictable.

HARRY: I suppose so. (_After a slight pause_.) Goodbye, professor.

THE DUMBLEDORE CARD: _Au revoir_, Harry.

_Dumbledore closes his eyes, and becomes a still-life._

_Harry closes his eyes and turns the stone three times. There is a sound of rustling leaves and light footsteps. Four figures step into the light. Harry stares at them greedily._

LILY: You've been so brave.*

JAMES: You are nearly there. Very close. We are... so proud of you.*

HARRY: Does it hurt?*

SIRIUS: Dying? Not at all. Quicker and easier than falling asleep.*

REMUS: And he will want it to be quick. He wants it over.*

HARRY: I didn't want you to die. Any of you. I'm sorry. You'll stay with me?*

JAMES: Until the very end.*

HARRY: They won't be able to see you?*

SIRIUS: We are part of you. Invisible to anyone else.*

HARRY (_to Lily_): Stay close to me.*

_They walk on. The sounds of voices become louder. The camera shifts to the source of those voices, Voldemort and his servants._

DOLOHOV: No sign of him, my Lord.*

VOLDEMORT: I thought he would come. I expected him to come. I was, it seems... mistaken.*

HARRY (_loudly, offscreen_): You weren't.*

_The camera turns to Harry, who is still accompanied by the four revenants._

_Death Eaters rise, cry out, some laugh. Voldemort stands, frozen, staring as Harry moves towards him.*_

LILY (_singing_): _Slumber my darling, thy mother is near._

_ Guarding thy dreams from all terror and fear._

VOLDEMORT (_raising his wand_): Harry Potter.

LILY (_singing_): _Daylight has passed, and the twilight is gone._

VOLDEMORT: The boy who lived.

LILY (_singing_): _Slumber my darling, the night's coming on._

VOLDEMORT: Avada Kedavra_!_

_The green light swallows Harry, and he falls. Close-up of his face on the ground, eyes closed._

_We CUT instantly to a well-lit scene, Harry's face in exactly the same position. _

_Harry's eyes open._

_He lets out a cry of shock and reaches up to his scar, to swat at a horrible-looking, baby-sized homunculus frantically clawing and biting there and making inhuman noises. _

_The homunculus, looking much like the baby-thing Pettigrew carried in _Goblet of Fire_, is flung away, but rapid-crawls back to try to get at Harry, who has now scrambled to his feet._

_The homunculus is halted by someone else's hand, and lifted away. We follow the arm and find that it belongs, of course, to Professor Dumbledore._

DUMBLEDORE (_smiling broadly_): Harry. We meet again.

HARRY (_first puzzled, then with growing heat_):Professor? What are _you_ doing here?

DUMBLEDORE: I am here to explain, Harry, so please -

HARRY: Where are my parents?

DUMBLEDORE: Please listen, Harry, time is -

HARRY: I WANT MY MOTHER -

DUMBLEDORE: Harry!

HARRY: AND MY FATHER! What have you done to them?

DUMBLEDORE: HARRY! Surely you can't imagine that my influence extends this far?

_Harry considers this, finally shakes his head._

DUMBLEDORE: The first thing that needs to be established is, that you aren't dead.

HARRY: What?

DUMBLEDORE: The second is that you may entirely trust what I tell you, because it is impossible to lie here. Test it if you must. Try to say, oh, that you have no reason to feel I have used and manipulated you grievously.

HARRY: I have no reason to... no reason... no...

DUMBLEDORE (_smiling in vindication_): You see. You can't say that, because of course you have much reason. Everything worked exactly as I had planned, astonishingly enough; and with all that, if you were to say you wished to curse me into nonexistence, I could not find it in me to protest.

HARRY: I don't want to curse you into nonexistence!

DUMBLEDORE: I know, Harry; I've known for some time that you are the better man. Now I want you to understand, Harry.

_All the while this dialogue has gone on, the homunculus has been struggling to free itself. Its struggles are becoming feebler, though._

DUMBLEDORE: I tried to arrange for you to meet Voldemort's killing curse, because only a curse from a wizard with power like his could have dislodged the horcrux. But the killing curse separates _a_ soul from a body. Only one can be taken. You, and this fragment, are now engaged in a struggle to see which leaves the earth forever and which returns to your body. The outcome is not in doubt. How are you feeling, Harry?

HARRY: Good. Really good. It seems (_he takes a deep breath_) like the air is really... rich?

DUMBLEDORE: A million pass through here every day, and I don't think there would be another in a hundred years who would find the atmosphere quite so filling. But as for the piece of Tom here, as you see, it has nothing to sustain it. Who is there on earth who ever thought of him with love? Well, perhaps poor Bella in her way.

HARRY (_angrily_): Don't tell me about "poor Bella"!

DUMBLEDORE: What was she ever rich in, Harry, besides poisons? But to continue -

_The homunculus takes a hideous gasp and seems to pass out._

_Instantly, the scene shifts. Harry now finds himself back in the forest, surrounded by chortling Death Eaters. He is unable to stop himself from opening his eyes for a fraction of a second. Nobody notices, though._

VOLDEMORT: Rowle, Yaxley: levitate him ahead of us. We'll let his friends at Hogwarts see him first.

_The violent levitation starts, and Harry visibly braces himself for it._

_Then he is suddenly back with Dumbledore. The homunculus pants for breath._

DUMBLEDORE: I'm sorry, Harry, I should have warned you about that. As you see, Tom's horcrux is losing his hold. When he completely gives up the ghost, so to speak, you will find yourself back in your body.

HARRY: But sir, then what? Am I gaining any special power here that would make me any more a match for him?

DUMBLEDORE: Not in the standard sense of 'power', no.

HARRY: Well then... What do I do? I haven't even been able to keep them alive – were they just here? Did you see Remus? Professor Snape? Colin? Neville? God, Colin and Neville thought I was some kind of hero.

DUMBLEDORE: And you aren't, of course.

HARRY: Of course I'm n- I'm n-... (_He is, of course, unable to speak the falsehood_.)

DUMBLEDORE: Well, I think we may regard that as a settled question. Harry, you must understand -

_The homunculus gives another shuddering gasp, and again the scene instantly shifts. Harry is being bounced about in the air in front of the boisterous Death Deaters, and now is in sight of Hogwarts._

DUMBLEDORE: Not too much longer. I don't know how much I am permitted to say, but... Harry what you have been through is without question most terrible. But in a sense it is also quite wonderful. Do you not see a pattern in these things? How every single step you have taken, that has brought you closer to vanquishing Voldemort, has been made possible by the devotion of parents for their children, or children for their parents, or friends for their liberator, and by the bonds both of magical debt and of deep gratitude towards you, Harry, for your bravery and generosity of spirit?

HARRY: I see a lot of people giving up their lives. My parents and Sirius and Mr. Diggory and Dobby and Remus and Professor Snape and Neville.

DUMBLEDORE: And who else, Harry?

HARRY: Sorry; you too, sir.

DUMBLEDORE: No, I mean... who else in this present convocation? Who willingly walked into a killing curse, for the sake of his friends and countless strangers?

HARRY: Oh. I guess, me.

DUMBLEDORE: It's important that you acknowledge this; that you see that you have earned the right to invoke the others who -

_A peal of thunder rolls in from above. Dumbledore looks upward and places his hand over his mouth in joking "now I've done it" mode._

DUMBLEDORE: Oh, dear. I believe I will be serving detention for that.

_The homunculus is once again gasping._

DUMBLEDORE (_hurriedly_): It may take you some time to get your breath back there, so don't be in a hurry to jump up and start dueling. And don't be in any hurry to come back here, Harry. Earth's the right place for love. At least I don't know where it would go better. And you'll think of me from time to time, won't you?

HARRY (_smiling_): I don't think I could help it, sir, even if I wanted to. _Au revoir_, then?

_Harry embraces Dumbledore._

DUMBLEDORE: Till next century, my dear boy.

_The homunculus shudders, and falls still._

_Harry instantly finds himself on the ground, just outside the gates of Hogwarts. The Death Eaters are jubilant. Ron, Hermione, Ginny, the rest of the Weasleys, many others, are either crying or fighting back tears. _

_The sides (unlike in the movie) are evenly matched in numbers, but the Death Eaters have many Dementors with them, and of course the power of Voldemort himself. Still, some dozen or so of the goodies have started to advanced and aim spells at the baddies. With a wave of the Elder Wand, Voldemort tosses them aside like chaff._

VOLDEMORT: _Enough_! You see now that your champion is dead. The fight is over. I have no desire to spill more wizarding blood. I am giving you the chance to consider whether you will be rational, or whether you will die as blood traitors and traitors to your leader. For now, I am calling a truce. One of you may retrieve Potter's body. I swear by my magic that none of my men or women will harm you. Let us see now; (_he pauses, and smiles_) which of you loved him best?

_Ron and Hermione each start off towards Voldemort and the body, and each immediately begins fighting to restrain the other._

_As they are dragging one another to and fro, Ginny passes in front of them, walking steadily on. Neither Ron nor Hermione notice her until she is more than halfway towards Voldemort and Harry. _

_Ron and Hermione now cry out to her to stop, and each now attempts to run and drag her back; but this just results in another wrestling stalemate._

_Ginny walks on until she arrives near Harry. (Voldemort is somewhat in back of both) _

_Harry's 'body', conveniently, is layed out at an angle where he could see both Ginny and Voldemort if he opened his eyes. He now does open them a crack, and is breathing rapidly and with difficulty through his nose._

_We see Ginny, from Harry's point of view, and we can see – as Voldemort clearly cannot – that behind her back she is holding a basilisk fang._

VOLDEMORT: Ginny Weasley. An old acquaintance of mine.

_A flash of surprise and fear shows for a moment on Ginny's face._

_Nagini slithers towards Harry's body._

VOLDEMORT: You may recall that I swore none of my men or women would interfere with you in retrieving the corpse. I said nothing about my pet, though; and she is hungry.

_Nagini is coming closer to Harry. Ginny walks briskly to intercept her._

_Voldemort chortles._

_Nagini rises up and draws back to strike at Ginny._

_Molly and the others cry and wave their wands trying to draw a bead on the snake, but Ginny is too close to it._

_Voldemort laughs and leers in anticipation._

_Ginny's magical player – let us say that the tension in the air is so palpable that it is triggered without the usual hand contact – sings out the verse from "Oh Mary Don't You Weep":_

THE PLAYER: **Old Mister Satan, he got mad; He missed that soul that he thought he had**.

_In one motion Ginny dodges the snap of Nagini's jaws and plunges the basilisk fang into her side._

_Nagini contorts, hisses in agony, and collapses._

_Voldemort stares in stupefaction for a moment, then rages and points his wand at Ginny, who looks at him with ferocious satisfaction. He opens his mouth to curse her -_

HARRY (_offscreen_): _TOM! TOM! _Here, Tom, over here!

_And there he is, standing up with his wand pointed at Voldemort. (An attentive viewer will see or recall that he is carrying Snape's wand now. He never disarmed Draco, so was never in any sense the master of the Elder Wand.) Shouts and cries of "Harry!" "He's alive!" Voldemort turns to stare._

VOLDEMORT (_to the onlookers_): It's not him. It's not Potter. Somebody has switched with his body. (_He is trying to sound certain, but it isn't quite working._) I killed Potter with _Avada Kedavra_.

HARRY: Well, we both know that's not as infallible as it's made out to be. (_To Ginny_) You are brilliant! But you need to get back now, it has to be me.

_Ginny goes backward and forwards, and finally complies._

_A pause, and a staring contest between Harry and Tom._

VOLDEMORT: If you are Harry Potter, how did you survive this time? Who was the fool this time, the one who gave up their life to let you put off your death for a little while, like your mudblood mother did all those years ago?

HARRY: In a funny way, Tom – it was you. A piece of you anyway.

_Harry lifts the hair from his scar. After a moment Voldemort gets it, and his face lights up at understanding the trick. He begins to laugh._

HARRY: And if you could have seen it, what you had done to yourself – I think even you might have some second thoughts.

VOLDEMORT (_ignoring Harry's comment_:) What luck, Potter! (_laughing_) What incredible luck -

HARRY: Quite a bit of luck in it, yeah.

VOLDEMORT: - to fall on such a weak wand and such an empty head! By telling me how you survived, you've just lost any possible chance that I would hesitate to kill you. What possessed you to tell me the truth?

HARRY (_pausing a moment to consider_:) I think I still have some of the next world stuck in my throat.

_Voldemort stares at him for a moment, trying to puzzle this out, then returns to 'contempt' mode._

VOLDEMORT: Well. You have your wand up. Shall we? You must have some idea of what you want to do. How are you going to fulfill the prophecy, Chosen One? How will you vanquish me?

_Harry pauses to consider the question, and then answers it with quiet conviction, without a hint of irony:_

HARRY: I think you're going to tell me.

_After a second of complete incredulity, Voldemort goes into a wild rage._

VOLDEMORT: What do you take me for?_ WHAT _DO YOU TAKE ME FOR_? _A _fool_ like you?A_ mindless fool like you _who goes_ walking up to his enemy_ and _begs for a killing curse__? _Do you know what I will tell you, Potter? I will tell you TWO – WORDS!

HARRY: I know. It wouldn't matter whether I had told you how I survived or not. In the end you'd decide to use that curse no matter what, because you think hating and killing are invincible.

VOLDEMORT: _And what do you __**expect**__ to save you from them: __**LOVING AND DYING?**_

_Pause_.

_Close up on Harry_.

_Harry's eyes open to their widest with the shock of realization. Voldemort really has told him._

_Harry looks down at Snape's wand, and flashes back to Snape using it to cast the doe patronus._

_Harry's eyes begin to water, and he starts to shake._

_Voldemort's rage turns instantly to glee, and he throws out his arms to his followers, commanding them to laugh it up as well. Of course they follow._

RON, HERMIONE, GINNY: _Harry! _Don't give up, Harry! You can beat him!

LUNA: You don't think he's crying out of fear, do you? That doesn't seem like Harry.

_Voldemort still "conducts" the Death Eaters in a chorus of gloating, and cackling and cawing, but we don't hear any of his words either here or in future cuts to the Death Eater side. _

_We see Harry, head down, eyes closed, wand raised close to his mouth, and hear him whispering:_

HARRY: Mom, Dad, Sirius, Remus, Mr. Diggory, Dobby, Neville, Professor Snape, stand with me now_._

_A white mist begins to swirl around Harry's head and enter Snape's wand. We see flashes of Harry's memories of those he invokes._

_Some of the Dementors start acting nervously. Voldemort goes on conducting. _

HARRY: Mom, Dad, Sirius, Remus, Mr. Diggory, Dobby, Neville, Professor Snape, stand with me now.

_The mist – color and texture suggesting a mix of the patronus and the pensieve memory liquid - grows brighter and fuller, swirls faster around and into Snape's wand._

_The Dementors begin pulling back, and some of the Death Eaters show fear at this. Voldemort goes on obliviously conducting._

HARRY_: _Mom, Dad, Sirius, Remus, Mr. Diggory, Dobby, Neville, Professor Snape, stand with me now_._

_The mist and the wand are now blindingly bright._

_The Dementors fly off in all-out retreat. Voldemort finally notices and stares uncomprehendingly at them. _

_He turns to Harry to see if he could be causing this somehow, but all he sees is a sniveling schoolboy kneeling and shaking on the ground – from his p.o.v., the bright light is invisible._

_Voldemort returns to a state of smug certainty._

VOLDEMORT: Do you wish to say any final words to your friends, Potter?

_Harry picks out Ginny, Ron, Hermione, Luna. He smiles to them, and in a wavering voice, he sings:_

HARRY: _"Though sad fate our lives may sever..."_

LUNA: Oh, yes! Let's all sing, please?

HARRY AND LUNA: "_Parting will not last forever..." _

VOLDEMORT: Enough! ONE!

HARRY, GINNY, HERMIONE, LUNA, RON: "_There's a hope that leaves me never..."_

VOLDEMORT: TWO!

HARRY, GINNY, HERMIONE, LUNA, RON: _"All through the night!_"

VOLDEMORT: THREE!_ AVADA KEDAVRA!_

HARRY: Expecto Patronum!

_The doe, much larger than life-size, leaps out of Harry's wand._

_The doe meets the killing curse, and extinguishes the green light like a flood washing over a candle._

_The blindlingly bright patronus engulfs the black-cloaked man, who violently jolts about. We can't be sure if he is shuddering in horror and nausea, or if the patronus is shaking something out of him. _

_After a second or two, the light departs. Voldemort recovers himself, examines himself quickly, and – seeing no harm done – laughs and points his wand at Harry._

_Harry sits defenselessly, obviously too exhausted even to look up._

VOLDEMORT_: AVADA KEDAVRA!_

_A tiny, pale green light flares for a moment from the tip of the wand, then goes out. _

_Voldemort stares at his wand in astonishment and tries again_

VOLDEMORT_: AVA -_

_His mouth is open, but no further sound comes out. Voldemort clutches his throat and turns around wildly to see what might be happening. The camera follows his p.o.v, which stops when it sees:_

_The doe is raising up and stamping on the last homunculus, which a close-up shows to be even more twisted and unnatural-looking than the last._

_The last soul fragment tries in vain to dodge the hooves which are crushing it. It's cries grow weaker. _

_Voldemort tries to make his way over to it, but gets only a few steps before clutching his chest and falling to his knees. _

_The doe delivers one last blow, and the thing lies still. _

_Voldemort topples over, dead. _

_Harry is still bent over. The doe comes up to Harry and nuzzles against his cheek. Harry looks up at her, smiles and leans into the side of her face._

HARRY (_sobbing_): You did it. You did it. You beat him again.

_Harry gets up and walks over over to Voldemort's body. We see Voldemort's hand, still clutching his wand partly upright._

_The wand drops down, in what might be simply the effect of the loss of grip in death, or might be the Elder Wand bowing to its new master. Harry takes it and pockets it._

_Most of the spectators, on both sides, are looking on in shock. One of the astonished Death-Eaters makes a hesitant, threatening move with his wand. _

HERMIONE: _Expecto Patronum!_

_The otter flies to the Death-Eater's arm and invades his dark mark, causing him to drop the wand and scream in pain. _

_General surrender._

_Harry makes his way over to Ginny and embraces her. Her hair is wild, her face is grimed and tearstained, and she is almost entirely covered with snake blood and guts. _

HARRY: God, you're beautiful.

THE PLAYER: _Brothers and sisters, don't you cry; _

_ There'll be good times, by and by; _

_ Pharaoh's army got drownded, _

_ O Mary don't you weep._

_ O Mary don't you weep no more,_

_ O Mary don't you weep no more,_

_ Pharaoh's army got drownded,_

_ O Mary don't you weep._

FADE OUT

* * *

FADE IN to GRYFFINDOR TOWER, NEXT MORNING.

_Harry looks down at the Invisibility Cloak, folded into triangular shape. On it he places the Elder Wand, and on that the Resurrection Stone._

_Harry looks at the icon come to life._

_He picks up the objects and begins walking by himself down the halls. Portraits occasionally call to him in congratulations, and he smiles, thanks them, and moves on, finally entering the Room of Requirement's room of lost things. _

_He now folds the Cloak around the Wand and the Stone, and all three vanish. Harry places the invisible Hallows in a nook of a cranny of a mass of debris and turns back to exit the room. As he turns, there once again is the Mirror of Erised._

_A scene begins to congeal of parents and child. It looks at first like the scene of Harry with James and Lily, which so entranced the eleven-year-old Harry in _Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone_. But after a moment we can see the differences: it's an older Harry and an older Ginny with their arms around their children. Harry stares for a long while at the mirror with a stupid smile on his face, then finally shakes himself and leaves._

_The scene in the mirror does not dissolve, though. We zoom in on it and see that behind the adult Harry and Ginny is a small wizarding photo of James and Lily, and Lily is singing – the same tune she sang to Harry in the Forbidden Forrest: _

LILY: _Sweet pleasures attend thy sleep_

_ Fondest, dearest to me;_

_ While others their revels keep_

_ I will watch over thee._

END

Dumbledore's "Earth's the right place for love; at least I don't know where it would go better" is from Robert Frost's poem, "Birches."

Thank you for reading!


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